WDPN31 PGTW 150300 MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI// SUBJ/PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR TYPHOON 02W (MALAKAS) WARNING NR 033// RMKS/ 1. FOR METEOROLOGISTS. 2. 6 HOUR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. SUMMARY: INITIAL POSITION: 26.3N 140.6E INITIAL INTENSITY: 65 KTS GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: 98 NM NORTH-NORTHWEST OF IWO TO MOVEMENT PAST 6 HOURS: NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AT 17 KTS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT: 38 FEET SATELLITE ANALYSIS, INITIAL POSITION AND INTENSITY DISCUSSION: ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE IMAGERY (MSI) DEPICTS WEAKENING CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH TY 02W AS THE SYSTEM BEGINS TO INTERACT WITH A MID-LATITUDE SHORT-WAVE TROUGH. INNER CORE CONVECTION HAS COLLAPSED, WITH DRY AIR ENTRAINING FROM THE WEST. THE INITIAL POSITION IS PLACED WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE USING MSI AND SUGGESTS THAT THE VORTEX HAS BECOME DECOUPLED, WITH THE CONVECTION REMOVED TO THE EAST OF THE LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC). THE INTENSITY ASSESSMENT IS BASED ON A BLEND OF AGENCY DVORAK ESTIMATES AND WIND OBSERVATIONS FROM IWO TO (RJAW) INDICATING WIND GUSTS OF 70 TO 75 KNOTS AT CLOSEST POINT OF APPROACH. INITIAL WIND RADII BASIS: SCATTEROMETER DATA CURRENT STEERING MECHANISM: DEEP LAYER SUBTROPICAL RIDGE (STR) TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST AGENCY DVORAK AND AUTOMATED FIXES: PGTW: T4.0 - 65 KTS RJTD: T4.5 - 77 KTS RCTP: T5.0 - 90 KTS KNES: T4.5 - 77 KTS CIMSS ADT: 67 KTS AT 142340Z FORECASTER ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT ENVIRONMENT: UNFAVORABLE VWS: 20-25 KTS SST: 22-23 CELSIUS OUTFLOW: STRONG POLEWARD ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE: INITIAL POSITION: HIGH INITIAL INTENSITY: MEDIUM INITIAL WIND RADII: MEDIUM 3. FORECAST REASONING. SIGNIFICANT FORECAST CHANGES: THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST FROM THE PREVIOUS WARNING. FORECAST DISCUSSION: TY 02W IS ACCELERATING NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AND IS FORECAST TO TURN NORTHEASTWARD AROUND THE STR. WITH THE COLLAPSE OF ITS INNER CORE CONVECTION AND THE VERTICAL DECOUPLING OF THE VORTEX, TY 02W IS BEGINNING TO LOSE ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS. AS THE SHORT-WAVE TROUGH EJECTING ACROSS JAPAN INTERACTS WITH TY 02W, VERTICAL SHEAR IS FORECAST TO INCREASE AS SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES COOL. DRY AIR IS ALREADY WRAPPING AROUND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE VORTEX. EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION IS FORECAST TO BE COMPLETE BY TAU 24 AS THE SYSTEM IS FULLY ABSORBED INTO THE BAROCLINIC ZONE. MODEL DISCUSSION: NUMERICAL MODELS ARE IN VERY TIGHT AGREEMENT WITH ONLY A 100 NM SPREAD AT TAU 24, LENDING HIGH CONFIDENCE TO THE JTWC TRACK FORECAST. FORECAST CONFIDENCE: TRACK 0 - 72 HR: HIGH INTENSITY 0 - 72 HR: MEDIUM// NNNN